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Linda Morgan/Staff Photo
Legislators hold a House session in January 2009 at the Capitol in Harrisburg. MORE ONLINE: For a chart showing legislative compensation and benefits in all 50 states, go to www.republicanherald.com.

Linda Morgan/Staff Photo
Legislators hold a House session in January 2009 at the Capitol in Harrisburg. MORE ONLINE: For a chart showing legislative compensation and benefits in all 50 states, go to www.republicanherald.com.

In many ways, state legislators - and their aides - remain insulated from the harsh economic realities faced by the public they represent.

As thousands upon thousands of Pennsylvanians lose their jobs or face cuts in salaries and benefits in what amounts to the worst economy since the Great Depression, legislators and their staff continue to collect above-average pay and benefits.

"The primary benefit of being a legislator or a legislative staffer is a recession-proof job," said Eric Epstein, coordinator of RockTheCapital.org and an advocate for trimming legislative branch expenses.

The state's 253 legislators all start out with the same base salary of $78,314 a year, the fourth highest legislative salary in the nation. However, additional premiums are attached to the legislature's 24 leadership positions.

The premiums can range to more than $30,000 a year. As the Senate majority leader, Sen. Robert Mellow, D-Peckville, for instance, earns $110,350 a year. The highest salaries go to the House speaker and the Senate pro tem who earn $122,254 each.

Ordinarily, the legislators' base salary goes up every year with a cost-of-living adjustment based on data from the Philadelphia metropolitan area. This year, for the first time since the COLA was enacted in the 1990s, there is no COLA increase.

Health benefits

Members of both houses, meanwhile, receive premium health care plans that include medical, vision, dental and prescription coverage.

Health care for members of the House of Representatives is fully paid, a benefit worth about $16,700 a year, according to state estimates. The prescription drug plan, as an example, calls for a $6 co-pay for name-brand drugs and a $3 co-pay for generic drugs.

Senators receive about $13,031 toward their health care plan. In 2007, the Senate changed its policy to require senators and retired senators to pay one percent of their salaries to health insurance.

Other state employees pay two percent of their salary towards health care. But 62 percent of the 81,000 state employees in the plan participate in a voluntary wellness program, earning a one percent discount on their contributions.

By comparison, private sector employees paid an average of $3,515 in 2009 toward employer-sponsored health insurance for their families, according to an annual study by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust.

The study also found family premiums rose five percent from the previous year, even though inflation fell nearly one percent.

The House and Senate plans with their low co-pays, low deductibles and comprehensive coverage are generous compared to what's routinely offered in the private sector, said Rick Dreyfuss, a Hershey actuary who writes about public pension and health care plans for the Harrisburg-based Commonwealth Foundation.

In the private sector, a family can contribute 25 to 30 percent toward the cost of health-care premiums and a single individual can pay 15 to 18 percent, he said.

And in the case of legislators, the health care plans can follow them for life.

All legislators are vested in their pensions after five years, although they cannot collect on them until age 50. But legislators become eligible for lifetime health benefits after 10 years in the House and eight years in the Senate.

Pension generous

As for pensions, legislators and their aides participate in a defined benefit plan, a pension model that is rapidly disappearing in the private sector, where 401(k) plans, using a mix of employer/employee contributions, are far more common.

Under a defined pension plan, a retiree collects a fixed percentage of his or her salary, usually based on a formula that considers a variety of factors like age, length of service, military experience and other criteria.

In a report issued in 1969 when the legislature was still part-time, the Commission for Legislative Modernization, which first pushed the idea of a full-time legislature, noted lawmakers pensions were already generous compared to the private sector.

Since then, it's only gotten better - or worse, depending on your perspective.

The State Employees Retirement System calculates a lawmaker's pension based on years in office and a multiplier of that number, the average of three highest years salary and other factors, like provisions for spouses, military service and other state jobs.

Legislators elected prior to 1974 qualify for a multiplier of 7.5, which can make some pensions astronomical. Mellow, for instance, who has 40 years in office, is eligible for a pension of up to three times his $110,350 salary.

For lawmakers elected after 1974, the system uses a multiplier of three percent. For other state employees, including legislative staff, it uses a multiplier of 2.5 percent.

What it means essentially is that in most cases a lawmaker elected at age 30, who serves 20 years and leaves office at 50, qualifies for a pension of 65 percent of his or her salary or $50,900 a year based on current salary, Dreyfuss said.

A legislator elected at 30 who leaves office at 60 would qualify for a 90 percent pension or $70,483 a year, based on current salary, he added.

A lawmaker in the House who is elected at 30 and leaves after 10 years would qualify for a pension of 30 percent or $23,494 a year but would have to wait until age 50 to collect it, Dreyfuss said.

While lawmakers elected after 1974 contribute up to 7.5 percent of their salary to the pension plan, the amount contributed by the state more than compensates for what they pay, said Dreyfuss.

For many, retirement at age 50 is attractive enough, according to Dreyfuss. "The value is the enhanced early retirement benefit," he noted.

Other perks

Legislators also get other perks.

In the House, lawmakers get a $20,000 a year expense account to maintain district offices, $4,000 for postage and up to $7,800 for vehicle expenses. House lawmakers can use a car from the state fleet or claim mileage, currently set at 50 cents a mile.

In the Senate, where the 50 legislators represent a larger constituency, legislators get a $25,000 expense account for district offices and $26,500 a year for postage. They, too, can use a state car or claim mileage at 50 cents a mile.

One of their most controversial perks is per diems.

Per diems are intended to cover the cost of lodging and meals for legislators, most of whom must travel to Harrisburg. The per diem rate is set each October based on federal Internal Revenue Service guidelines. It is currently $163 a day.

The problem with the per diems is not necessarily what they are for but how they are handled, critics say. The per diems are paid automatically without any need on the legislators' part to verify expenses.

In the House, per diems are paid for all days the legislature is in session, the day after a session, overnight stays and committee meetings. In the Senate, per diems are permitted for all legislative business.

House rules allow members to collect full per diems, even if they obtain free meals elsewhere or own their own homes in the Harrisburg area.

During the recent Bonusgate trial that led to a corruption conviction of former House speaker Michael Veon, state prosecutors highlighted the fact Veon billed taxpayers $22,000 for meals after routine Tuesday night basketball games with other legislators, and still collected his full per diem.

During the trial, Reps. James Wansacz, D-Old Forge, and Marc Gergely, D-McKeesport, testified as defense witnesses and acknowledged they participated in the games and the dinners and also collected per diems. Despite his conviction, Veon was acquitted by a Dauphin County jury on a specific charge of per diem abuse.

A Times-Tribune investigation, meanwhile, found that at least five members of the Northeast delegation, including Wansacz and Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, owned homes in Harrisburg while collecting per diems for lodging.

Both Wansacz and Yudichak are running for seats in the Senate. Wansacz has vowed to stop taking per diems and instead submit verification of expenses; Yudichak has promised to sell his interest in his Harrisburg home.

In 2009, 180 House lawmakers collected a total of $3 million in per diems, according to a study done by Democracy Rising, a legislative reform group. On the Senate side, 41 legislators collected $774,000 from January 2008 to October 2009, it found.

Extra-legal?

Some critics think per diems and other benefits are extra-legal.

"The Constitution says legislators get salary, mileage and no other compensation whatsoever," said Tim Potts, director of Democracy Rising.

As far back as 1969, the modernization commission, which first pushed the legislature's move to become a full-time body, warned against continuing to pay non-accountable flat fees for reimbursement.

It recommended reimbursement for expenses "actually incurred, reported and certified." The recommendation was ignored but the push for a full-time legislature was not, although some might question whether the legislature really is full time.

When it was still a part-time legislature, Pennsylvania worked on a two-year budget cycle, adopting a state budget every other year. In a budget year, the General Assembly would meet for three months to work out a budget and in the following year for six months to work on legislative affairs.

Its sessions now are highly flexible but generally run, based on a three-day work week, from February to July with more days added as the state's June 30 budget deadline nears. It then goes into a three-month summer recess, resuming in September and, unless it's an election year, running through December. During an election year, legislators take a break over the election to return to their districts.

The legislature averages 60 to 70 session days a year. Session days involve committee meetings, closed-door party caucuses, floor debates and votes. However, committee meetings and hearings that require legislators' attendance can take place outside the session calendar.

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30 posted comments

The three days that legislators are in Harrisburg is for session days. The other two days they are back in their districts meeting with constituents, attending meetings in their districts and soemtiems attending committee meetings outside of their district. They are not paid to sit back after three days and do nothing. Most have full days of meetings or events that can have them running from one end of their district to another. Are there some who take advatage? Possibly and probably. But it is up to the voters in those respective districts to remove him/her from office. As for the contention that the staff doesn't do anything, when there is a problem of any sort between a citizen and the state, the local district office staff hear about it first. They then do their best to resolve it w/out having to involve the rep or the senator. They work hard and the staff in Hbg work just as hard to keep their bosses informed on new developments that might happen while they were out with constituents. Is there lots of fat that can be trimmed in the perks? Sure. But don't paint everyone in the same brush. Many work just as hard as those in the private sector and take more abuse from the public for it.

Sadly, we need to go back to how it was set up originally, but wait, oh no, I am not allowed to say that, we cannot go back, liberals will shout and tell me I want us to live like cavemen.

We need to go back to the basic way this was set up. If you worked for the government you were EXPECTED to have a lower paying job than in the private sector. Hear that School Teachers, your included!! Why? Because your job was serving the public(taxpayers).

Now it is the taxpayer serving the government and have you noticed they have done absolutely nothing for you. We need to go back, and they must go back to serving the taxpayers.

'Politician' should not be a career choice. It's bad enough they leave office to settle in with their huge delayed kickbacks and contracts as "special advisers" and members of the boards of companies they've given handouts and protection to while in office, they should not be able to earn 2, 3, or even 4 times as much as their average constituent. I'd say that they should be limited only to the minimum wage and have to pay for all of their own benefits, but they'd just vote to raise the minimum wage to $150/hr.

Evidentally "Judge" doesn't mind going to work and paying taxes so that these politicians can live high off the hog. Maybe he should volunteer to give more out of his pay check to help them out even more.

Now its all clear on why they wanted to toll interstate 80 cause they wanted more money in there paychecks not to fix the state..... If they would all cut there paychecks in half for 1 year this state would have that much money they wouldnt know what to do with it..... And since the tax payers are paying for there insurance i feel it should be a 80/20 with higher co pays..... WE are the people that are paying you to have a job WE should be able to control how much you make and how good your insurance is cause well we are paying for it..... If you work for the state you should be the only one on medical not your wife and 15 kids enough of the bull crap have your wife get a job and stop thinking its ok for the taxpayers to support her cause if you look at it you have not dont a damn thing for your wife,husband or children the tax payers of PA have done it so how good of a parent are you when you really look at it to have someone else taking care of your family.

Dear Judge, I have 2 degrees and actually work in business - not on the peoples dime. The benefits that our state legislators receive are sickening compared to that of the private sector. I'm required to work 235 days per year (not 70), pay 5 times what they do for health insurance, must save for my OWN retirement, work an hour away from home because there are no jobs in Schuylkill unless your a nurse, lawyer or JUDGE. I consider anyone working for the public sector - ie cops, probation officers, politicians, judges etc just a drain on society because their contribution is negligible and they earn their living off of the hard work of others. I don't think like a factory worker and work hard to support my family. But at least at the end of the day I go home knowing I earned my living for that day, not mooched it from someones taxes. People who can't get a real job in the private sector work for the public and its just a shame that we are too busy with our REAL jobs to keep an eye on the people voting for these benefits.

It certainly needs a clean-up. But at ALL levels. One Magistrate not only collects his salary, but has a wife and two kids, ALL with gubmint jobs, ALL on the taxpayers' payroll. And gubmint employee contributions for health care? Ask a local street department employee or cop what THEY contribute to THEIR health care. To THEIR retirement plan. I guarantee they won't look you in the eye when they tell you.

Farmer Bob is right on target. Besides politicians, we need to focus on the expensive salary and benefit packages paid for the teachers in this state. WHen you consider that they only work about 35 weeks a year, their salaries and benefits are outrageous.

There is only one way to end what is going on in Harrisburg and in Washington, and that it TERM LIMITS!!!! And the only way to get term limiits is to question candidates to about it, and if they say no or avoid the question...Don't vote for them!! If they say yes and don't do anything about it, vote them out the next election.It's as simple as that!!! We have never need term limits more than we do at the present time. Remember...Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts, absolutly!

To The Judge....How DARE you insult the intelligence of factory workers, and yes I'm insulted, as Im sure many are....YOU talk about intelligence....Well my clueless one...you go on wearing your rose colored glasses and singing La Di Da...and DONT CARE...Because YOU are part of the problem with your complacent and forgiving attitude.....Legislators work hard?? Huh?? Did you NOT read the article?? As for your insinuation that factory workers are nothing but "dummies" well here's a newsflash for you....Factory workers had and DO have more work ethics in their pinky fingers than ALL the "so called" legislators put together....AND they definitely have more intelligence than your lame excuse of a post. Remember that factory worker next time you buy ANY American made product...so who's the dummy?

As for legislators...well you can go and continue to kid yourself how "wonderful" they are....how hard they work...but remember this...The people of Pennsylvania deserve better. They are the EMPLOYERS of these freeloaders who do NOTHING to earn their generous pay....and if we were a company...we would DOWNSIZE....And its about TIME!

do something...just what is the next step...I watch the political commercials with the people running for office with their feined looks of interest on their faces as they look into the eyes of an elderly person who has to decide between food or medicine...or shaking hands with people they would not otherwise give the time of day...or sitting at their desk trying to look as if they are making an important decision...if they want our vote and they want the task of running this State, they need to be accountable to their constituents to the point of being voted out of office, before their term is up, for poor performance. Simply voting is not enough.

Black sheep: The reporter and the newspaper are doing something about it. Now it's up to the voters and taxpayers to do something about it. If people are upset about it, it's up to them to take the next step.

If we vote out all the incubents, we will just have more pension and health benefits to pay, since former legislators will be vested. We need to reform this systme, and that includes an attack on the vested benefits all the clever lawyers in Harrisburg have worked out for themselves.